A Different Kind of Silence
by Ardin
Summary: Complete. Post “Call of Silence.” A curious Kate finally takes a look at a list of Medal of Honor recipients and finds an all too familiar name. KIBBS.
1. Found Out

**A Different Kind of Silence** By: Ardin

Spoilers: Huge ones for "Call of Silence," anything else up to that point in the series is fair game.

Disclaimer: You guys all know how these go...poor college student, don't own any of it, wish I did, yadda, yadda.

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The bullpen was finally quiet. After the events of the last couple of days, Tony and McGee had both left at the first available opportunity. Gibbs was out to dinner with Corporal Yost. Only Kate remained at the office at 2100 that Sunday. She had vaguely considered going home, but knew that the memories of the early interrogation would not allow her to sleep. So instead she sat at her desk, gazing, unseeing, at her computer's screen saver as she replayed in her head the events of the last few days.

"_You don't win the Medal of Honor, Kate. You're awarded it for conspicuous gallantry above and beyond the call of duty."_

"_I think it was him or me."_

"_Marine Burial Detail present as requested Special Agent Gibbs." "Thank you, Colonel. Now we're ready"_

"_Bellows death makes Yost the last surviving Marine from his unit on Iwo."_

"_Wade loved Goodman. Me? Arty Shaw any day. You dance?"_

"_Or you could just look him up under Medal of Honor recipients."_

The memory brought Kate back to the present. Something in Gibbs' voice when he'd spoken about the Medal of Honor made her wonder. She brought her computer back to life and brought up the Google homepage. She glanced around her quickly, for some reason nervous about doing the search. Seeing no one she typed in: "Medal of Honor." The first listings were unhelpful descriptions of the Medal itself, but the third was a Wikipedia article that gave her a direct link to a list of recipients.

No ranks, no divisions, not even a mention of which force they served in. Just names. She scrolled down the page, through the list, her eyes skimming quickly over names she'd never seen before. Near the bottom of the page she stopped, having found a name she did recognize: Ernest Yost. She smiled, thinking of the sweet old man. She scrolled slowly back up the page, this time reading each name carefully. The names of heroes.

Her breath caught as she read one name. She couldn't believe it and she reread the listing another four or five times before her brain truly registered what she was seeing: Leroy Jethro Gibbs. The name seemed to jump off the page at her and yet she still couldn't believe it.

Her boss, the self-proclaimed bastard of NCIS, one of the top agents to ever work in the field, was also a hero. It had never before occurred to her that the man that she had spent the last year and a half trying to ignore her growing feelings for was a hero. She briefly considered pulling up Gibbs' SRB, but knew that, even as untech-friendly as Gibbs was, he'd easily find out about her search for his file.

She closed the internet window and shut down the computer. She was going to put the whole thing out of her mind. He obviously didn't want anyone to know, she was sure she would have recalled even the slightest mention of it. Soldiers that they interviewed didn't salute him. Commander Ryan hadn't said anything. And thinking back she was quite sure that the few times that he'd posed as a Marine he hadn't worn the Medal of Honor ribbon.

Sighing, she stood and collected her things, now absolutely certain that she wouldn't be able to sleep that night. As had happened only too frequently during the last year or so, her thoughts would be consumed by the gruff, blue-eyed man who constantly surprised her.

She was sifting through paperwork, trying to figure out what, if anything, she should take home when the elevator dinged behind her. She recognized his soft, confident foot falls immediately. Telling herself that nothing had changed, that he was still the same man, she took a breath and turned to him as he rounded the corner into the bullpen.

"Gibbs. How's Yost doing?" Despite her best efforts her voice was slightly shaky, something he caught quickly. He turned to her from where he'd been hunched over his desk, clear blue eyes taking in her nervousness. He shrugged his shoulders and turned back to the stack of files he'd been sorting through just seconds before.

"He's doing better. He went through hell, Kate. That will always be with him, but he's doing better." Finally finding the file he'd been searching for he grabbed it and rotated back to face her. "Heading home?"

Still unsure of her ability to speak she nodded. Again he noticed her nerves, but shrugged them off as the after effects of a long couple of days. Raising a hand he gestured for her to precede him to the elevator. Once inside, with the doors closed, he was just about to hit a floor button when he felt her eyes staring at him. Concerned and unnerved by behavior that hadn't been there just hours before he hit the ground button. Seconds after they started moving he hit the emergency stop and turned to where she stood, scrunched in the far corner, still staring at him.

"Kate? What?" He hadn't meant to sound so irritated and felt a swift wave of guilt as she jumped slightly at his tone. He consciously forced himself to relax his stance and very slowly took a step toward her. "What's wrong, Kate? You keep looking at me like I've grown an extra head." As though to assure himself that he hadn't done exactly that, he rubbed a hand across the side of his neck. His moment of comedy was instantly rewarded by a small grin and a noticeable relaxing of her posture. He took another small step towards her; he now stood in the dead center of the small box. "Are you okay? What happened?"

She pursed her lips for a moment, and her eyes seemed to question his. "Nothing's happened, Gibbs." His name came out with a slight edge that she knew he'd notice. She tried again. "It's just been a long couple of days. I'll be fine." She looked away from his face as she lied, knowing without a doubt that he would catch the fib and hoping beyond hope that he would let it slide this one time.

Her words startled Gibbs, who couldn't remember a time when she had so blatantly lied to him. If he was honest with himself, her straight forward, no nonsense, speak her mind tendency was one of the major things that he was attracted to. He had no problem admitting, at least to himself, that she was beautiful, intelligent, and good at her job, but it was the refusal to let anyone walk over her that had really caught, and held, his attention. Her lie now confused and angered him. He took a step closer, closing the distance so that she would have enough room to slip away if she felt truly threatened, but close enough that she was forced to look up into his eyes.

"You're lying to me." He ground out, holding her gaze fiercely. "I want to know why and I want to know the truth." She opened her mouth to speak and then closed it. Still staring into his eyes, she wet her lips and tried again.

"You—" She broke off, unable to find the proper words.

"I what?" He asked gently while wracking his brains for the horrible something that she seemed convinced of. He couldn't think of anything immediately and before he could dig deeper into his memory, he heard her mumble something, only just audible, as she dropped her gaze to his chest.

"You were awarded the Medal of Honor."

He swore vehemently to himself and took a self-conscious step backward, putting distance between them. His behavior seemed to make her more confident and she straightened against the wall. Before she could speak, he did, speaking to the floor and his shoes. "Have you told anyone?"

She waited long moments for him to look back up at her and then answered. "No. Why haven't you? Why are you so upset that I found out?"

He shook his head and turned away from her. She waited several long minutes. Scrubbing a hand through his short, silver hair he spun back to her.

Speaking with the quiet strength that was a Gibbs trademark he answered her. "Because it's part of the past and just like the rest of my past it's need to know. And no one needs to know."

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A/N: That's it for now. I might write more if people request it, I have a couple of ideas what will happen next. This was my first attempt at NCIS Fiction and I hope it is well recieved. And if I add chapters the story is likely to gain KIBBS shippiness.


	2. Let Slide

A/N: Here's part two. I'm sorry it's a short one, but the way this is in my mind it has very specific act divisions and before I could start Act III, I had to get them out of the elevator. For all of you who have written reviews: I appreciate them greatly and they really do help to motivate me to sit down and write further. There will be further and more intense KIBBS in future chapters, I promise. There will also be more info on Gibbs and his Medal of Honor.

Now, on with the show:

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_Speaking with the quiet strength that was a Gibbs trademark he answered her. "Because it's part of the past and just like the rest of my past it's need to know. And no one needs to know." _

Despite the force of the statement he still refused to look her in the eye, as though ashamed of what he was saying or of what she discovered. Kate stepped away from the wall, moving to try and catch his gaze, struggling to understand the embarrassment in his posture. Gibbs shifted on his feet and, still avoiding her, he moved into the corner opposite the control panel.

As he leaned heavily against the back wall, Kate suddenly realized the source of his behavior. He wasn't embarrassed about the Medal, or upset at her for finding out. He was angry at himself for not managing to keep it in the past where he felt it belonged.

She moved next to him, matching his position against the wall, still watching him. She smiled slightly as his shoulders stiffened. _Typical Gibbs_, she thought, _you think I'm going to push so the walls go up that much higher_. The profiler and interrogator in her knew the best ways to break past that, but she pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind as she responded to his earlier statement.

"You're right." She said low and clear as she continued to gaze at him. She almost laughed when his eyebrows rose in shock at the statement. "It is the past, and more than that it's your past, so no one but you needs to know." She sighed lightly and was relieved when he finally looked back at her. "But I'd like to know."

His shock at her concession had worn off, only to be replaced by confusion as her last words reached him. His next words came slow and uncertain, a tone Kate had never before heard from him.

"Why? Why do you want to know? We've already established that it's just the past, isn't that enough?"

Kate shrugged, still maintaining eye contact with him. Her curiosity raged at her to keep pushing while his defenses were lowered, but she knew that he would only hate himself and her later if she did, even more so if it worked and he told her. So instead she moved away, giving him space, both physically and mentally. As she reached the other side of the small space she turned back to him.

"Okay, it's in the past." She said with a smile. She watched as his posture visibly relaxed and he once again stood without leaning on the wall. "So how about this: we have just spent two grueling days in the office, and the last hour in this box." She paused to smirk at the suspicious expression that was plastered on his face. He was waiting for the next shoe to drop. "How about you let me buy you a drink?"

He grinned at that and nodded almost imperceptibly. "I think I can live with that, but why are you buying for me? If this is about the Medal, Kate, I thought we had decided-"

She cut him off, "It's not. This case turned out good and I want to buy a friend a beer."

His grin seemed to widen when she said the word friend, but she wrote it off as her imagination as he spoke again, "I can live with that, but only if I can buy you one, too"

She shook her head laughingly at his stubborn expression and, moving past the elevator doors, switched the emergency stop off. The regular lighting returned and as they began moving ground ward again she mirrored his grin. "Sounds like a plan. I know a place near here, if you don't mind walking."

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That's all for now, I'll update as soon as I can, but classes start soon and my spare time will be sorely limited when that happens.


	3. Time Spent

A/N: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far. I'm glad that you guys like the story. This installment might seem a little out of character, but, since we only ever see our heroes at work, it is entirely likely that they would be different in the company of collegues versus friends. Hope you enjoy...

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_The regular lighting returned and as they began moving ground ward again she mirrored his grin. "Sounds like a plan. I know a place near here, if you don't mind walking."_

The walk to the bar had been slow and leisurely, the conversation limited to work and the case that had just ended. Gibbs had spent most of it wondering why he had agreed to come out with her. He had once told himself that he would never put himself in this position. Never allow himself to get to know her well enough to fall for her, something he was sure would take very little effort. And here he was going for a friendly drink. Kate had noticed his almost reluctant participation in the conversation, but had refused to push, content that he had agreed to the outing at all.

The bar was louder and more crowded than Kate would normally have expected for a Sunday night. A horseshoe bar divided the large room in two. On the right side of the door, private two and four person booths filled the dark space. On the left, tables that could at most fit three formed a ring around the edge of a large, and currently packed, dance floor. These had seating provided only on the wall side of the table, allowing for a view of the DJ and dancers. With a hand placed gently and protectively at her back as they navigated the crowd, Gibbs led Kate to the left and an empty table against the far wall.

Sliding onto the bench seat, they removed their light jackets and Gibbs signalled to a harassed looking waitress nearby. She gave a quick nod to acknowledge their presence before turning back to the drink order she was already taking. Kate turned her attention silently to the dance floor, allowing her gaze to drift aimlessly over the gyrating bodies that packed it. Content for the moment to just enjoy the music and, more importantly, the company, she relaxed into the padded seat back.

"What can I get for ya?" The waitress asked giving them a large tip-friendly smile.

Gibbs looked over at Kate, allowing her to make a selection first.

"I'll have a Killian's, please." She turned to her boss, "Gibbs?"

"I'll have the same, thanks." He gave the waitress a quick grin as she wrote down the order and Kate felt a momentary wash of jealousy. The young woman had only just departed when Gibbs turned to face Kate, an amused smile gracing his handsome features.

"You know, considering that we're out grabbing a beer and not at work anymore you are allowed to use my first name, Kate." He put specific stress on her name, as though challenging her to disagree with his assessment.

Kate grinned and raised an eyebrow, pretending to consider the request. When she spoke it was in a teasing voice, "I didn't think anyone was allowed to call you Jethro."

His eyes darkened slightly as she said his given name and when he spoke again his tone was intense and serious, "My friends can." She held his gaze for several long seconds before forcing herself to look away. When she looked back his grin had returned, and her slight discomfort disappeared.

"Okay, Jethro, so tell me something: why are you building a boat?" For a moment she thought that perhaps she had crossed the line, gone past the silently agreed upon topics of conversation, but when his grin widened she continued, "I mean, what exactly possesses an ex-marine turned NCIS Special Agent to build a boat, by hand, in his house?"

"It's not in the house, it's in the basement." He looked away to thank the waitress as she returned with their drinks. He turned back to her, but didn't continue, instead taking a sip of his beer. She gazed at him expectantly before shaking her head and focusing her attention on her beer. Taking a drink she muttered darkly.

"You are incorrigible."

"Oh, did you want more information than that?" He grinned at the glare she shot at him, but his look softened when she responded.

"Only if you want to tell me." She held his eyes, curiosity driving her nearly insane, but still unwilling to push him into any conversation he didn't want to have. She was beginning to really enjoy this night out with him and didn't want to push this new, more personable Gibbs away.

Her words startled him. He had expected her to push, to try to bring down his defenses. But just like in the elevator he was surprised by her seemingly willing exceptance of whatever he wanted to give. His mouth curved up in a smile that was gentler than anything Kate had ever seen from him. She blushed slightly at the quiet intensity of it and looked away. She looked back as his voice filled the silence that had settled between them.

"My dad got me into building things originally. When I was growing up he used to have a workshop down in the basement. Built furniture mostly. It used to drive my mom nuts. He was always tracking sawdust up onto her nice clean floors." He paused to take another sip of his beer, and Kate was astonished by the nostalgic look on his face. "I used to go down there after school and after dinner to watch him work. When he died…" He trailed off, a sad look that wrenched at Kate's heart filling his eyes

"It's okay, you don't have to talk about it. Its part of the past, right." As she spoke she moved slightly closer and laid a comforting hand on his forearm. The touch seemed to bring him back to the present.

"No, its not like that. I wasn't there when he passed, there was some case here in DC and I didn't make it 'til after the funeral. I still regret that; not being there for her." The sadness that had been present earlier was replaced for a moment with guilt before he shifted to look at her with a slight smile. "Mom gave me all his tools, I think she wanted them out of the house, and I just kinda started building. A workbench and some drawers at first. I'm not really sure when I decided to build a boat, but there you go." He ended his story with a shrug and a swig of beer.

It was only then, when he loked down at her hand, still on his arm, that she realized that she had been running her thumb back and forth over the skin just below his elbow. Despite the heat now rising in her face, she gave his arm a small squeeze before retreating back to her own space. He didn't seem to have minded the contact and Kate thought she saw disappoinment flash over his own features when it ended.

It surprised her that he was volunteering so much information so readily, but welcomed the unusual openness. Trying to encourage and continue the conversation she gave him a grin and responded to his earlier tale.

"My dad use to hate building things. I remember once when he tried to build some shelves for my brothers. The three of them spent hours trying to get the pieces to fit just so. They never did get it finished. Mom was not happy with the mess and one day the entire thing just magically disappeared to be replaced by a perfect store bought shelving unit. I don't think they ever tried to build anything after that." She laughed at the memory and Gibbs joined in, happy to see her having a good time.

They continued to talk animatedly for the next hour, both of them enjoying their new found ability to talk about the past, while still maintaining a distance from certain topics. Gibbs wouldn't speak about his experiences as a marine, but found it unexpectedly easy and refreshing to talk about boot camp at Parris Island.

"I still can't believe the Colonel didn't kick us all out right then and there," he mused at the end of a humorous anecdote. "We would have deserved it. It took three coats of paint to get rid of it. That wall is still a slightly darker shade of gray."

And while Kate spoke willingly enough about her brothers and parents she avoided any specifics of her own childhood. They were just beginning their second round, and Kate had just reached the end of a particularly riveting misadventure from her days at the Secret Service when they were interupted.

"Actually come to think of it," she said, her voice full of mirth, "He was always a little bit jumpier after that. He kept all the little figures though. A dozen green, plastic army men. They were still on his desk…" She trailed off as she noticed the figure that had suddenly taken up residence at the side of their table.

Gibbs had noticed him much earlier in the night, standing at the bar in a worn leather jacket and faded blue jeans. The guy had been watching Kate off and on throughout the evening, seemingly unconcerned that she was with someone else. Gibbs didn't doubt that the younger man had instantly picked up on the lack of romantic behavior between him and Kate. Apparently that was all it took to make her fair game.

"Hi there beautiful." Gibbs struggled to contain the smirk that threatened to break out at the opening line. And he grinned openly when Kate frowned up at the other man, apparently just as unimpressed. However, her frown and his grin quickly disappeared when the man moved closer to her side, pushing into her personal space. "How about you come dance with me?" The invitation was accompanied by a not so gentle hand on her upper arm.

"No, thank you." Kate's voice was strong and confident as she shook his hand away. To reinforce the rebuff she moved closer to Gibbs, shifting towards him until she rested comfortably against his side. The younger man seemed unfazed by her behavior and tried again just as the first notes of a slow song began to pour from the speakers.

"Come on, just one dance. It won't kill you and I bet you really like this song. Dance with me."

Again she politely turned him down, again moving closer to Gibbs, something he wouldn't have thought possible just seconds before, the contact nearly driving him insane. As much as he was enjoying watching the guy fight a losing battle Gibbs decided to put a stop to it. Taking advantage of Kate's proximity to him he put a strong arm around her shoulders, while his other hand ran down the length of her arm to entwine his fingers with hers. He could feel Kate stiffen at the unexpected touch, but she relaxed when he gave her a small wink. Turning back to the other man, Gibbs put on his best 'I-carry-a-gun-don't-screw-with-me' glare. It worked almost immediately.

Stuttering slightly under the force of the stare the man turned quickly and walked off.

Looking back at Kate, the grin that had just started to form disappeared. He could feel his heartbeat quicken as he gazed down into her eyes, her face just inches away. Swallowing hard he forced himself to turn away, closing his eyes, hoping to shut out the unexpected wave of feeling that had just crashed against his chest. He let go of Kate's hand and could've sworn he heard a disappointed sigh as she moved away from him. He swore at himself. _You moron, the night was going great and you had to go and do something stupid like that._ Pushing the thought to the back of his mind he turned back to her, self-recrimination quickly disappearing at the sight of her smile.

"Thanks for that. It would have taken me all night to get rid of him if you weren't around." He smiled back and gave her a 'your welcome' nod. Her next words made him smile even more. "He was right about one thing though, I do like this song."

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A/N: For everyone who liked this and is waiting for another installment, I have to warn that it may be a little while since classes have begun and along with them my job, so it may be awhile before I can find the time to do any writing serious or otherwise.


	4. So Close

A/N: I know I said that it would probably be awhile before I got a chance to write any more, but as luck would have it I was wrong. On Friday I had to sit through a rather boring Aerodynamics class, and so, rather than take notes on a very redundant JATO physics lecture, I wrote the next chapter. My thanks to all of you who have given me so many great reviews. Since this is my first fic I am really surprised at the positive reactions. Keep writing and letting me know what you all think.

And to Colonel Russell: I took an entire course on JATO physics and mechanics last term and I promise that I normally pay very close attention during your classes.

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_Her next words made him smile even more. "He was right about one thing though, I do like this song."_

"Okay."

Kate hadn't expected any reaction to her words. A part of her, which she kept pushed way to the back of her mind, desperately wanted him to react, to do something. The rest of her knew that it was unlikely and was fully prepared for him to ignore the comment, so when he slid out of the booth, she was noticeably surprised.

He stood quickly, moving to take full advantage of the situation. A voice in his head screamed at him, _what are you doing? She works with you. This is inappropriate._ He ignored the voice, instead choosing to follow his gut over his brain. It was only once he had stood and turned to face her that he got a look at her confused expression.

"Okay, what?" Her voice was shaky and she raised an eyebrow at him questioningly. For the brief moment before he responded, she worried that she had said something wrong, crossed the line, and that he was leaving because of it. Her fears were quickly put to rest.

"Dance with me?" His voice was gentle and hopeful. As he spoke he held out a hand to her, reinforcing the verbal invitation. Kate thought she saw some fear in his eyes, as though he were worried she would say no, but the look disappeared to be replaced by a large smile when she took his hand and allowed him to help her up.

Keeping a firm grip on her hand he led her out onto the dance floor, which was nowhere near as packed as it had been during the fast pop numbers of earlier. Finding an open spot he turned to her, still holding her hand. Forcing himself to maintain at least some distance between them he brought his other hand to her waist and began to sway slowly when he felt her hand slide onto his shoulder.

_I'm not a perfect person  
There's many things I wish I didn't do  
But I continue learning  
I never meant to do those things to you  
And so I have to say before I go  
That I just want you to know_

_  
I've found a reason for me  
To change who I used to be  
A reason to start over new  
and the reason is you  
_

She was disappointed when she felt him push her away slightly, only to have the feeling washed away by surprise and happiness as he spun her briefly away and brought her back against him. Not wanting to shout to be heard, she shuffled closer to him as they continued to slowly rotate.

"I would never have thought of you as a dancer."

_I'm sorry that I hurt you  
It's something I must live with everyday  
And all the pain I put you through  
I wish that I could take it all away  
And be the one who catches all your tears  
That's why I need you to hear_

He raised his eyebrows and grinned at her before spinning her out again. When he pulled her back, still maintaining their distance, he answered the unasked question.

"My sister forced me to learn when I was 16. Kept telling me it was for my own good, guess she was right." His smile softened as he looked down at her, but again he made himself look away as he felt his self-control slipping. They continued dancing in silence.

_  
I've found a reason for me  
To change who I used to be  
A reason to start over new  
and the reason is you _

I'm not a perfect person  
I never meant to do those things to you  
And so I have to say before I go  
That I just want you to know

I've found a reason for me  
To change who I used to be  
A reason to start over new  
and the reason is you

Kate allowed herself to be spun away one more time as the last bars floated out from the speakers. The music transitioned smoothly into another slow song. Kate recognized it immediately from the Armageddon soundtrack. She'd never particularly liked the song, found it a bit too romantically corny for her taste and she was about to suggest they go back to their table when someone bumped into her from behind.

She stumbled forward, and might have fallen had Gibbs not caught her with a pair of steady hands on her waist, her hands coming to rest on his chest. She looked up and catching the concerned look in his eyes she gave him a small grin. Unconsciously she smoothed a hand over a slight wrinkle in his shirt and was about to move away. She gasped audibly when his hands tightened around her, pulling her closer, and he began to slowly move to the song.

_I could stay awake just to hear you breathing  
Watch you smile while you are sleeping  
While you're far away dreaming  
I could spend my life in this sweet surrender  
I could stay lost in this moment forever  
Every moment spent with you is a moment I treasure _

Don't want to close my eyes  
I don't want to fall asleep  
Cause I'd miss you baby  
And I don't want to miss a thing  
Cause even when I dream of you  
The sweetest dream will never do  
I'd still miss you baby  
And I don't want to miss a thing

As the song continued, Kate allowed herself to relax fully into Gibbs' arms. Stepping so that her body was almost flush against his, she snaked her arms around his shoulders, and gently laid her head on his chest where she could hear the steady beat of his heart. She smiled when she felt his arms tighten even further around her.

Lying close to you feeling your heart beating  
And I'm wondering what you're dreaming  
Wondering if it's me you're seeing  
Then I kiss your eyes  
And thank God we're together  
I just want to stay with you in this moment forever  
Forever and ever I don't want to miss one smile  
I don't want to miss one kiss  
I just want to be with you  
Right here with you, just like this  
I just want to hold you close  
Feel your heart so close to mine  
And just stay here in this moment  
For all the rest of time

Kate closed her eyes and wondered, not for the first time, what it would be like to stay in his arms forever. She sighed contentedly, and was surprised when he echoed it. Her shock increased as she felt him press a kiss into her hair.

Don't want to close my eyes  
I don't want to fall asleep  
Cause I'd miss you baby  
And I don't want to miss a thing  
Cause even when I dream of you  
The sweetest dream will never do  
I'd still miss you baby  
And I don't want to miss a thing

She experienced a profound sense of pain as she realized that the song was coming to an end. Feeling his hands relax and release her slightly she opened her eyes and moved back far enough to look up into his face. Her breath caught at the look in his eyes.

For the first time since she had met him, the hard edge that normally held sway was gone. His eyes were soft and loving, his features relaxed and happy, and he smiled gently down at her. His smile disappeared as he realized just how close together they were, but this time he ignored the dissenting voice in the back of his head and pulled her undetectably closer, moving one hand away from her waist to stroke her cheek. She nodded almost imperceptibly at his questioning look, bringing her chin up higher.

A loud crash just meters away brought them out of the moment. Gibbs' instincts kicked in immediately and he moved to place himself between Kate and the noise. She giggled slightly as she leaned past him to see the cause of the disturbance. At the far edge of the dance floor, a very unhappy looking waitress stood surrounded by broken glass. A pair of embarrassed college guys stood just behind her, vaguely mumbling their apologies. Looking around the bar, Kate and Gibbs both noticed that the formally mixed bar population now seemed composed almost entirely of young college-age men.

Gibbs turned back to Kate, obviously disappointed by the interruption and the distance that was yet again between them. He gave her a half-hearted smile.

"Can we get out of here? This isn't really my kind of crowd." He asked in a low voice, trying not to be heard by the large number of very drunk frat guys around them. He was sure that it would be no problem to take out any of them, but didn't want to have a good night tainted by a brawl.

Kate nodded, unsuprised that he had voiced the very thing that she had been thinking. They moved to collect their jackets and leave a tip for their very harassed waitress. Kate glanced down at her watch. Almost 0200. She hadn't realized that it had gotten so late, but was reluctant to let the evening end. She smiled as an idea hit her, hoping desperately that he would go along with it.

"Why don't we take a walk along the Mall? Its only a few blocks from here." She watched him grin, unaware that he had been just as desperate to continue the early morning in her company. He helped her with her coat, and with a hand at her back, led her out into the night air.

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A/N: The National Mall (which is a couple of blocks of DC that has the Smithsonian and many other cool things) is only about a mile and a half away from the Navy Yard in reality and so just assume that the bar is somewhere between the two.

Neither of the songs belong to me. The first was "The Reason," it belongs to Hoobastank. The second was "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing," and belongs to Aerosmith.

Again I warn that it may be awhile before my next update.


	5. Just Walk

A/N: Okay here is chapter five. Chapter six should be up in just moments since I wrote them at the same time. Again I say thank you to everyone who has reviewed this piece, you guys are the greatest. Special shout out to **dark rolling sea **for giving me the type of reviews that really help me improve my writing for future works.

Now on with the show...

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"_Why don't we take a walk along the Mall? It's only a few blocks from here." She watched him grin, unaware that he had been just as desperate to continue the early morning in her company. He helped her with her coat, and with a hand at her back, led her out into the night air._

They stepped out into the dark street, which had just hours before been full of cars and people. Now, however, the area was almost empty, only the occasional vehicle past by and the music and noise from the bar faded into the night as they moved further away. Kate shivered slightly and pulled her jacket tighter around her. The air had gotten much cooler since they had entered the bar almost four hours earlier, and the light covering she had worn to work that morning was no longer enough to fight the chill.

Gibbs noticed Kate's attempts to warm herself and despite his desire to pull her against him for warmth, he instead offered his own coat, setting it around her shoulders before moving back to his own space. She smiled over at him, the expression slightly diminished by the concern in her eyes.

"What about you, aren't you cold?" She moved slightly closer to him, allowing their shoulders to just brush as they continued to walk.

"I'll be fine, I've got more layers on than you." He smiled warmly at her, and, stuffing his hands in his pockets, continued to walk. She silently acknowledged the fact, having caught herself several times during the evening noticing just how good he looked in his polo shirt and sport jacket.

They walked in comfortable silence for several blocks, occasionally sharing smiles, but otherwise content to just walk. As they reached the National Mall the sidewalk narrowed noticeably and Kate was both surprised and pleased when Gibbs offered his arm, which she took readily. At first she expected the unfamiliar contact to be slightly uncomfortable for them both, but she quickly discovered that the closeness seemed to come very naturally.

She's not sure how or when the conversation started, but both appeared to become more and more comfortable talking about the past as the minutes and eventually hours went by. Despite her mild protests that it really wasn't interesting, he seemed genuinely interested in hearing about the town she'd grown up in and how she'd finally joined up with the Secret Service.

"It was all very 'Leave it to Beaver.'" She remembered fondly at one point. "You know, with the town doctor making house calls, and everyone knowing everyone else." He chuckled at her description. "When I was really little I thought it was great, that small town thing, but it wore really thin really fast when I was a teenager. We couldn't wait to get out of there. Me and my brothers were convinced that what we wanted more than anything was excitement and adventure. They grew out of it, settled down, raised kids. I guess I never did. Probably why I left law school, it definitely didn't cover the excitement area." She laughed out loud at the idea that she had ever felt law school would be exciting enough for her. Even the Secret Service hadn't fulfilled that aspect of her desire as much as her year and a half at NCIS had. She finished her story with a hint of mirth in her voice. "And now I work at NCIS. I carry a gun, routinely get shot at, and am involved in exciting chases. I can't really imagine going back to that quieter way of life."

He grinned down at her knowingly. "Yeah, the excitement of it all does kind of become an addiction." Up until that point Kate had been content to allow the conversation to just flow, but her next question was out of her mouth before she could stop herself.

"Is that why you joined the Marines, Gunny?" She felt him stiffen slightly at her question, but couldn't possibly have known about the shiver of desire that shot up his spine when she called him by his former rank. It was sexy as hell and he had to very deliberately mentally shake off the images that came to mind. His paced slowed slightly and she feared that she had gone too far. "Never mind, forget I asked." His response startled her.

"It's okay." He smiled down at her and pulled his arm and subsequently her further against him. "I actually joined the Marines to piss off my dad." His expression clouded for a second as he remembered that period of his life. "We'd hit a bad patch when I was finishing up high school. He wanted me to go immediately to college and I wanted to figure my life out a bit first. After a particularly bad fight just before graduation I stormed out of the house and went straight to the nearest recruiter. I had been considering joining up and knew that the Marines would piss him off more than almost anything else I could do." He glanced down at her. Her brows were knit together in confusion and he gave a small snort of amusement at the expression before explaining further.

"Dad was a pilot. He flew for the Air Force during Vietnam and Korea. As much as he understood the need for the different branches of the Armed Forces, he was pretty biased against ground forces. And it wasn't an uncommon attitude for the time. He didn't speak to me directly for almost a year after that. We 'talked,'" Kate could hear the quotation marks in his voice, "through my mom and eventually we got over it, though he was constantly ribbing me about being enlisted." He smiled nostalgically, remembering the ridiculous arguments that had dominated much of his early twenties.

Kate squeezed his arm. "Yeah, but look at you now. NCIS Special Agent and Medal of Honor winner." She hadn't meant for the last part to slip out, but thoughts of the Medal had been constantly in her mind since the beginning of the evening. She bit her lip apologetically and, when he looked down and sighed, she feared the worst. Gibbs' face took on a dark quality as he began speaking without preamble. She stayed silent as the story she had longed to hear came out.

"We were in Kuwait during Desert Storm. I'd been dropped alone just inside the border." He paused briefly, and her arm tightened around his. He hadn't allowed himself to talk about this in a long time, the memories always came back too strong, too vivid. But walking in the cool morning air with Kate, the images didn't resurface. He couldn't feel the hot, arid desert air or smell the burning oil fields and this fact more than anything else kept him talking. "My orders were to take out three separate Iraqi patrols and then get the hell out. I had just fired the last shot and was about to move out when I spotted a Marine detachment through my scope. They'd walked into an ambush and were taking fire."

Again when he paused, Kate said nothing, but instead moved closer, untangling her arm from around his and wrapping it around his waist. The move seemed to startle him, but he smiled down at her and slung his arm around her shoulders before continuing to speak. This wasn't nearly as hard as he had kept thinking it would be. For some reason talking about the event with her at his side was no different than any other conversation. That hadn't been the case at the time of the incident when his CO had forced him to see a Navy shrink after his nightmares started. For weeks after all he'd seen in his sleep were those six men, huddled behind the barest of cover as bullets rained down around them. He felt a reassuring squeeze of his waist and he began talking again.

"From my position I could see their attackers, but there was no way that I could take them all before one of them noticed where the bullets were coming from and it was a direct violation of my orders. At that moment neither of those things mattered though, I couldn't leave them behind like that, especially after one of them was hit. I remember watching him fall to the ground." He glanced down and noticed how horrified Kate looked at the story. _You idiot_, he reprimanded himself. He'd been too interested in being able to talk about this for the first time that he hadn't considered how it might be affecting her. He gave her a grin and rather than continue on as he had, he tried to inject as much humor as possible into his next words. "I guess I was just as stubborn then as I am now. The official report that was filed was that I'd risked my life to rescue fellow Marines and was wounded in the process. No one in Washington seemed to care about the disobeying orders thing. It was a bit odd really, I was chewed out one day by my CO and the next I was being given this great award."

They walked on in silence, both deep in thought. Kate had never actually expected that Gibbs would ever be willing to talk about the events that had led to his Medal of Honor, and while she had personally been dismayed by his description, she had seen the weight that appeared to lift off his shoulders as he spoke. And despite his past and her now greater understanding of it, she found herself falling harder and harder for the usually gruff man that now walked so sedately beside her. She relaxed against him, pushing the story he had just told her to the back of her mind and allowing herself to fully enjoy his presence.

In Gibbs' mind the now all too familiar war was raging. Against everything his brain was telling him about age differences, work situations, and past relationships, he knew he was falling in love with the beautiful, smart, and funny woman he now walked with. But unlike earlier in the evening when he'd forced his heart away from the fact, now he allowed himself to sink into the feeling and relish it.

They walked along in silence for another block or so, before Gibbs stopped suddenly. Kate looked puzzled for a moment, but laughed lightly when he glanced at his watch. _Just like Gibbs_, she thought, _can't just enjoy something_. She was startled when he turned them immediately around and began walking again. Frowning up at him she was about to speak, when he answered her unasked question.

"Sun's going to rise in a few minutes." Glancing at the sky to the east, Kate noticed the slight reddish tinge forming as morning approached. Gibbs continued, "I know the perfect place to watch from."

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A/N: Please let me know what you think. The stuff about Gibbs' dad comes as an expansion on his comment in 'Frame Up' that his dad had Betty Grable painted on the nose of his P-51. While the Air Force stopped using the P-51 Mustang soon after WWII ended, many AF pilots kept or collected them as personal planes. My grandfather still has one sitting in his hanger.

But enough of the tangent, next installment up in a jiff.


	6. Finally There

A/N: And this is it everyone: the last chapter. No preamble, lets do this...

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"_Sun's going to rise in a few minutes." Glancing at the sky to the east, Kate noticed the slight reddish tinge forming as morning approached. Gibbs continued, "I know the perfect place to watch from." _

Kate briefly considered commenting on how unGibbsish it seemed to care about the best place to watch a sunrise, but kept her mouth shut not wanting to say anything that might change his mind.

Up until then she had been quite content to just wander, allowing him to steer, but as their steps became more deliberate Kate began to really take in where they were for the first time that morning. Before Gibbs had made their abrupt turn around they had been strolling casually through West Potomac Park along the reflecting pool and their direction reversal had them headed towards the Lincoln Memorial at the far west end.

Disengaging himself from Kate's arms, Gibbs took her hand in his and led her up the steps of the Memorial. At first the gesture had merely been to assure that they both had balance going up the stairs, but Gibbs was surprised to discover just how good it felt to simply entwine his fingers with hers.

He grinned widely at her as they reached the top of the steps and let go of her hand as he turned towards the reflecting pool and unceremoniously flopped down to watch the sun come up. Kate giggled at his antics, _sometimes he really_ _is just like a child, so passionate and enthusiastic_. She sat down more sedately a foot or so away, taking the effort to position the bottom of Gibbs' coat between her and the cold marble. Her voice filled the calm air as she gazed out at the view before them.

"You know, I've lived in DC now for almost ten years and this is the first time that I've been here. I always told myself I'd take a day and do the tourist thing, but it always seemed to get put off." She sighed deeply before shifting slightly closer to him. He chuckled lightly at her comment.

"Well than you're in for a real treat, because this is always incredible."

They sat and watched in silence as the clouds over the Capital building turned to light yellows and reds as the sun began to make its way into the sky. Before long the entire sky was tinged in warm colors and the reflecting pool shown with the light of a new day. Gibbs watched Kate's ecstatic face, far more interested in her than the scene before them, as the soft morning glow surrounded them. When she broke their silence, he didn't hesitate in his reply.

"Wow." Her voice was hushed as though she were afraid that speaking would ruin the effects of the sun. "It's absolutely breathtaking."

"Yes, it is." She turned at his comment only to blush spectacularly when she noticed that his gaze was directed, not at the sunrise, but rather at her. She held his eyes as she unconsciously shifted closer. Still ignoring the day that was unfolding before them, he reached a hand out and pushed a stray lock of hair back behind her ear. Just as she had earlier in the bar she smiled gently at him and shifted closer giving him permission. Stroking his thumb along her cheek, he raised her chin and leaned in.

Time seemed to freeze as their lips met for the first time and for a moment neither moved, both too overwhelmed by the sensation. Without really knowing who started it, they deepened the kiss, his hand sliding to the back of her neck to pull her closer, as her hand settled on his upper arm for balance as she leaned in further. With a sigh she opened her lips to his probing tongue and felt her heart speed up as he explored her mouth.

Slowly they both pulled away from the kiss, but not from each other. Placing a light kiss on the tip of her nose, he moved his arm to her waist and pulled her flush against his side. She nestled happily into his shoulder and both turned back to the sunrise. She felt his voice rumble through his chest even as she heard him speak.

"This is the perfect way to start every day." She silently agreed, pulling back long enough to place a kiss on his lips, before settling back into his embrace.

The End

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A/N: That's it everyone. I hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please let me know what you think and whether or not you feel that I should keep writing. I've got some good ideas for a couple of Kibbs oneshots and I have a mild interest in writing a serious non-shippy (or maybe just slightly shippy) Stargate/NCIS cross, but we'll see...

Thank you all for your support.


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